TOWN CANDIDATES TALK TENNEY DEVELOPMENT, VOUCHERS
James Kelly
He/Him
News Editor
2/28/25
Six candidates will vie for 3 contested seats on March 11th’s town election. The candidates, who will compete for two seats on the Selectboard and one seat on the Pemi-Baker Regional School Board, discussed priorities on taxes, economic development, and education at a Candidates Night Forum.
Four candidates – Kosta Alexandropoulos, Philip LaMoreaux, Neil McIver, and Jason Neenos – are running for two seats on the Plymouth Selectboard. McIver is running for reelection, and LaMoreaux and Neenos each offer previous experience in town government. LaMoreaux, a Plymouth resident of 10 years, has served on the Plymouth Planning Board for five years and the Elementary School Board for six. Neenos, who moved to Plymouth from Phoenix, Ariz., serves as an alternate on the Planning Board and as Treasurer of the Energy Commission. He is also president of the Plymouth State teaching lecturers’ union.
Alexandropoulos, an Army soldier turned commercial fisherman turned police officer turned restaurateur, owns Yamas Greek Eatery on Main Street. Born in Germany to Greek immigrants, he lived in Alaska and Idaho before moving to Plymouth five years ago.
The Selectboard candidates said they would prioritize economic development and lowering the tax burden on Plymouth residents, with the conversation taking a particular focus on plans to develop Tenney Mountain. In January, the Planning Board declined, in a 4-3 vote, to send a zoning amendment allowing for a “Tenney Mountain Overlay District” to Town Meeting. The proposed amendment, which would have promoted commercial, recreational, and residential development on and around Tenney Mountain, was rejected over concerns about water and sewer, as well as burdening the school district.
The Selectboard candidates, however, supported Tenney Mountain development. LaMoreaux and McIver, in their planning board capacities, both voted in support of the amendment.
McIver noted the potential to build more housing the Overlay District could have provided. “We have a serious problem with affordable housing in our community,” he said. “I know of people who would like to work here, but they just can’t find a place to live. And if employers can’t find the people they need to work in their business, we just can’t grow.”
For LaMoreaux, the potential to be a hub for outdoor recreation was an exciting aspect of the plan. “This region is on the cusp of being a destination for outdoor adventure sports,” he said, noting the demand for activities beyond skiing like rock climbing, mountain biking, and hiking. “The more we do to build the interest in recreation in this area, the better it’s going to be for our economy,” he said.
Neenos, who did not have a vote on the Overlay District in the Planning Board but supported it as an alternate member, said the amendment was an attractive way to expand the tax base and “[make] sure we’re developing in the right areas of town.” In the future, Neenos hopes the language of the amendment is clarified and the specifics ironed out “to assuage the trepidations of the people that voted it down.”
The potential for seasonal housing, and its property tax revenue, was an appealing aspect of the Overlay District to Alexandropoulos. The town should “look into” Tenney Mountain development, he said, though he echoed concerns over water and sewer. In the Planning Board, residents and board members shared concerns about limited water and sewer infrastructure, though proponents of the Overlay District noted that water and sewer would necessarily be reviewed for each specific development proposal, and that the burden for demonstrating adequate water and sewer capacity would fall onto the applicant.
On the School Board side, candidates Marybeth Bentwood and Michael Watto answered questions on navigating the politics around education, especially as the Trump administration targets Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.
“To me, any effort that is trying to diminish DEI is diminishing the human experience,” said Bentwood, a Holdrness School teacher and Plymouth native who moved back to Plymouth during the pandemic. “I don’t want to live in a world where we don’t celebrate our differences,” she said.
Watto, a family doctor, Army veteran, and former Elementary School Board member who has lived in Plymouth since 2015, said it’s important to push back against harmful orders from the federal government. “You learn as an Army Officer… when you get an order from a superior, if it’s illegal or immoral or unethical, your obligation is to say, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not going to do that,’” he said.
The School Board candidates also affirmed a strong opposition to the state voucher program and its potential expansions. “I strongly oppose vouchers,” Bentwood said, arguing that voucher programs undermine public school funding. “Our public schools in New Hampshire are already underfunded,” she said. “I oppose [vouchers] unequivocally.”
Watto echoed that sentiment. “It is clear that New Hampshire does not fund an adequate education for its students,” he said. “One of the things that makes [the United States] a great country is our public education for all. And if we start getting into this game, it really is going to become [a situation of] haves and have-nots.”